Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has been fined $ 20,000 for “directing inappropriate language to a game official,” the NBA announced Thursday.
The incident occurred when the Hawks’ final possession ball 118-117 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday at the American Airlines Center.
Young was knocked to the ground when he put a screen on downtown Dallas Willie Cauley-Stein before the inbounds passed with 4.7 seconds remaining, preventing him from getting the ball the way the game was designed.
After Danilo Gallinari’s difficult attempt rattled off the brim, Young yanked his mouthpiece and stamped on referee Josh Tiven to protest the critical no-call.
Tiven, the team chief, told a pool reporter after the game that Cauley-Stein’s contact was considered “incidental,” so he didn’t whistle. Tiven said the squad on duty came to the same conclusion after watching the video of the game after the game.
The NBA said Thursday that “the game Young contested was rightly considered a no-call.”
“Under the rules of the game, Willie Cauley-Stein in Dallas was entitled to a normal step on a screen from behind, which he took, which led to incidental and legal contact between Cauley-Stein and Young,” the league said.
Young had 25 points and 15 assists in the loss.
“I’m not going to run away from the ball with four seconds to go and we’re trying to win the game,” he said. “I’m not just going to fall to the end. That’s just the most frustrating part. Not really getting the chance to play at the end is just really frustrating.”